Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned morbid curiosity into her life's work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best-selling memoir, brimming with gallows humor and vivid characters, she marvels at the gruesome history of undertaking and relates her unique coming-of-age story with bold curiosity and mordant wit. By turns hilarious, dark, and uplifting, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes reveals how the fear of dying warps our society and "will make you reconsider how our culture treats the dead" (San Francisco Chronicle).
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Readers say *Smoke Gets in Your Eyes* is a darkly funny, engaging memoir blending crematory insights, history, and personal stories. Many praise its c...
Culture of death
This gives you a peek inside a crematory but the author sprinkles in some history on the human relationship with our own mortality, the rituals supporting those and the evolution to where we are now. It has just enough ick factor to keep you entertained but I feel like i learned a lot and I wasn’t expecting that. Growing up with a dad who worked part time at a funeral home (and babysitting myself amongst the caskets and next to the embalming room while he worked a wake above) I hang on to an interest in where we go and what happens to us when we die. For me knowledge is power, and knowing the details however grotesque actually helps me not fear the inevitable end.
This gives you a peek inside a crematory but the author sprinkles in some history on the human relationship with our own mortality, the rituals supporting those and the evolution to where we are now. It has just enough ick factor to keep you entertained but I feel like i learned a lot and I wasn’t expecting that. Growing up with a dad who worked part time at a funeral home (and babysitting myself amongst the caskets and next to the embalming room while he worked a wake above) I hang on to an interest in where we go and what happens to us when we die. For me knowledge is power, and knowing the details however grotesque actually helps me not fear the inevitable end.
Very obviously not a festive read in the slightest yet I chose to read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. An incredibly interesting book that takes the reader behind the scenes of the job of a mortician. Although I found Caitlin Doughty's personal story interesting and I enjoyed the flow of the book very much, at times I did wish she discussed more of the history of the industry and cultural rituals. While Doughty discussed them briefly, when relevant, it was always only ever a glance over the topics; I wanted more. If you're faint of heart, squeamish, or horrified by the thought of the processes of death - don't read this book. If, like me, you're morbidly fascinated by this topic (pun intended), go ahead and read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, you won't be disappointed.
Fascinatingly gruesome! This is the kind of information I enjoy reading and learning about (the weirder the better). If you've watched episodes of Bones, you will probably not be grossed out... probably.
It's a quick read for most. However, I fell down the proverbial rabbit hole having to look up and research many of the people she mentions. I stopped for a couple of hours to read Mitford's The American Way of Death Revisited (only because I couldn't readily get my hands on the original book). Then I had to read all about the process of embalming, Dom Pedro of Portugal, 19th century Scottish murderers William Burke and William Hare, macabre photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, the Aokigahara Forest, Paul Gauguin, and the Salton Sea. Luckily, there's a list of resources at the end of the book for those of you who are just as curious.
It's a quick read for most. However, I fell down the proverbial rabbit hole having to look up and research many of the people she mentions. I stopped for a couple of hours to read Mitford's The American Way of Death Revisited (only because I couldn't readily get my hands on the original book). Then I had to read all about the process of embalming, Dom Pedro of Portugal, 19th century Scottish murderers William Burke and William Hare, macabre photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, the Aokigahara Forest, Paul Gauguin, and the Salton Sea. Luckily, there's a list of resources at the end of the book for those of you who are just as curious.
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